Locked in a room? That is a crime.

Myth or fact?

What people often think.

• Myth: If no one is chained or beaten, it is not a crime.
• Fact: Placing armed men at the exits and threatening to fire if you leave is wrongful confinement too (PPC s.340, illustration (b)).

Restraint or confinement?

Two offences, two sections.

• Wrongful restraint, s.339Blocking you from going where you have a right to go.
• Wrongful confinement, s.340Keeping you inside limits, like a locked room.

The law.

Section 340, PPC.

“Whoever wrongfully restrains any person in such a manner as to prevent that person from proceeding beyond certain circumscribing limits, is said "wrongfully to confine" that person. (a) A causes Z to go within a walled space, and locks Z in ... A wrongfully confines Z.”

Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 · Section 340, Wrongful confinement

Longer means harsher.

Sections 342 to 344, PPC.

• Any confinement, s.342Up to 1 year, or fine, or both.
• 3 days or more, s.343Up to 2 years, or fine, or both.
• 10 days or more, s.344Up to 3 years, and fine.

Quick quiz. The factory.

Guess first, then swipe for the answer.

• A. 1 month
• B. Up to 2 years
• C. Nothing, he is the employer

Answer: B. Section 343.

Three days or more raises the term.

• Section 343Confinement for three days or more: up to 2 years, or fine, or both.
• Restraint onlyUp to 1 month (s.341). Confinement is the more serious offence.

Worse with a motive.

Sections 346 to 348, PPC.

• In secret, s.346Up to 2 more years, on top of the confinement.
• To extort property, s.347Up to 3 years, and fine.
• To force a confession, s.348Up to 3 years, and fine.

What a court did.

2016 MLD 318, Sindh High Court.

• The factsA man was taken by police with private persons and held at an officer's residence, allegedly till stolen articles were returned.
• The caseHis brother filed a direct complaint, including s.342 PPC.
• The resultDismissal of the complaint was set aside. The trial court was told to issue process.

What to do.

Three routes, fastest first.

• PoliceReport it. Police may arrest without warrant (Schedule II, s.342).
• MagistrateA First Class Magistrate can issue a search warrant for the person (CrPC s.100).
• High CourtA s.491 petition to set the person at liberty.

Someone locked in?

Ask FAI in your own words. It answers with the exact section and the judgments behind it.

• My cousin's in-laws will not let her leave the house. What can we do?
• What is the punishment for wrongful confinement under section 342 PPC?

Example questions

Sources

• Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 · Section 340
  Wrongful confinement Pakistan Code